IN COURT

5 years ago

Trial Underway in Rutgers Suicide Case

John Munson / The Star-Ledger-AP-pool

Friday was the first day of the trial in the case involving Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student who used a web cam to spy on roommate Tyler Clementi while Clementi was intimate with another man. After Clementi found out about the spying and subsequent online broadcast of his sexual encounter, he committed suicide. Ravi faces 10 years in prison for being charged with bias intimidation against Clementi, a hate crime. The trial is said to hinge on whether the prosecution can prove that Ravi was moved to intimidation because of an alleged dislike of gays. The prosecution said in its opening statement that Ravi’s actions “were planned to expose Tyler Clementi’s sexual orientation, and they were planned to expose Tyler Clementi’s private sexual activity.”